How long should I wait to purchase?

After doing a hefty amount of research, getting a decent school discount, and hearing many good things about the powerbook, I am ready to buy one and make my first switch from a PC to a Mac.

I am a student and will be lugging my powerbook around campus, but at the same time, I want the power to do some video and image editing...so i have opted to sacrifice portability for performance and have decided to go with the 15" over the 12".

Unfortunately, there are several things making me hesitant...

- what is the likelihood that an update (Rev. B???) will be announced at MacExpo?
- quality control issues - THE WHITE SPOTS, the latch, etc. Ive read so many posts and heard so many things about the white spot issue that I still have other PCs in the back of my mind...
- whats the likelihood that there will be any update at all regardless if it is or isnt announced at the expo? (i could really care less about a G5 processor right now)

any input would be valuable to me - please help! im ready to get a Mac!

You should be able to get the lowdown here.

utex512 said:

- what is the likelihood that an update (Rev. B???) will be announced at MacExpo?
- quality control issues - THE WHITE SPOTS, the latch, etc. Ive read so many posts and heard so many things about the white spot issue that I still have other PCs in the back of my mind...
- whats the likelihood that there will be any update at all regardless if it is or isnt announced at the expo? (i could really care less about a G5 processor right now)

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I purchased my PowerBook 15" Aluminum (first Mac -- hooray for switching) on December 17th. It seems like this is already revision B... (unless a new revision means it has updated CPU, stats, etc.)

So far, I have had no problems with whitespots, the latch, heat, weird onises or anything else... Of course, that could just be a lucky coincidence or something, but personally, I think the kinks were sorted out before the Holiday Rush came in... so as to avoid returns and many many angry customers returning their Christmas gifts...

I doubt there will be much of an update for the 15" PowerBook at Expo, I mean, these babies were just introduced less than three months ago.

Hope that helps.

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Also, a quick note, utex512... do you go to UT? It's just that your moniker, utex and the 512 (area code) make it seem like you do... I'm also a UT student. I love the wireless they give us around campus.

The white spots and latches are a small minority, even if "common" by tech-support standards. They'll fix it for you if they come up, though; get the AppleCare warranty and have peace of mind...
the Aluminum 15" PB came out fairly recently, so odds are it won't be updated just yet. You'll probably be safe buying one ASAP. you'll be glad you did.

i wouldnt even think about buyin a powerbook if your not going to take the applecare....there are many issues with them however (knock on wood ) i havent had any issues with my yet other than 2 blow pixels.

i also took advantage of the deal the school hooks it up with so if you got them buying it go all out...i did...go for the 17" and make everyones jaws drop when you pull it out.

im a uni student in ontario and i dont find it much of a hassle to carry around...i got a standard laptop case that my book fits in and i also bought a sleeve aswell for when i dont feel like takin the case just toss it in the sleeve and into the book bag.

another great feature that i think the 15 will have to is an internal mic, that has great pick up...set your laptop atleast 10 rows from the front of the class (cause you dont wanna be too close to the teacher ) and hook a sound recorder, record all your lecture then convert them to mp3 and pump them onto the mp3 player before exams..instant studying with no or lil work.

if your not thinking of getting the 17 id atleast suggest a nice cinema diplay for when at home

I love my 15" powerbook. I didn't even think of the aspect of recording my classes when I go to college next year. I could record the video through iSight and audio through SoundStudio. I just sync the audio and video and create a vcd for each class for references. I love having my 15" hooked up with my 17" LCD when i am at home (check the photo section in the my mac setup thread for a pic) I also got the 3 year apple care when I got mine but have had no problems in the first 8 months. Only thing was my little cousin knocked a few batteries off a shelf on my desk and they kinda dinged the area next to my trackpad

The new mac updates will happen sometime in July-august area. Summer updates are always the best and improve on the macs and drop the prices. most for your money.

Graphite said:

The new mac updates will happen sometime in July-august area. Summer updates are always the best and improve on the macs and drop the prices. most for your money.

Click to expand...

Graphite, what do you mean by updates...update on the software or hardware?

Do you think prices for powerbook will drop in the summer?

Thanks

the apple updates he speeks of are the hardware updates on the computers

the prices don't drop that much when they update but its usually a more powerful machine for price ratio than the older ones If the prices do drop its no more then 100-200 dollars.

Updates may be due on Feb 2nd. It's only ten days, so wait.